Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

The book is about a boy named Harry Potter. At first sight he might look like an ordinary boy, but Harry is nothing like what you would call ordinary. He is a wizard! He is tall and thin, and he’s got a scar shaped like a bolt of lightning. That scar is the reason why Harry doesn’t have any parents, and has to live with his aunt and uncle who is the worst sort of muggles (unmagic people) you could find.

And it’s because of that scar, Harry Potter is famous, he’s called “the boy who lived”. Eleven years ago a great and powerful dark wizard called Lord Voldemort had come to power. He killed everyone who came in his way. He even killed Harry’s parents. But for some reason, nobody knows why, Harry survived. Instead of killing Harry, the spell turned back on Voldemort. Voldemort lost all his powers and disappeared.

Harry Potter doesn’t know who he is or anything about his past. His terrible new ”family” told him that his parents died in a car-accident. They thought that maybe if they didn’t tell him about his parents (that they were a witch and wizard) and if they treated him the right way, they might be able to squeeze the magic out of him. But on his 11th birthday, a giant called Hagrid, tells Harry about his true identity. Then Harry went off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

After arriving at Hogwarts all the students got sorted in “Houses”, which is their home when they are at the school. Harry got sorted into Griffindor along with two of his new friends Ron and Hermione. Later they have a flying lesson where Harry’s talent on broomsticks comes forth, and he becomes the “seeker” on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He is the youngest Quidditch player on the house team for the last century! He nearly died during his first match, when the broom went amok and he nearly fell off. After this he, Ron and Hermione did extraordinary and surprising things, not necessary positive things. Ron and Harry save Hermione from an escaped troll, they lurk around in the corridors after bedtime, which is totally forbidden and that can give consequences like loss of points for the house-cup, detention and so on.

One night when Harry and his friends are walking around in the corridors after bedtime, they hear Professor Snape talking with Dumbledore (the headmaster and one of the greatest wizards ever) about a stone which produces elixir of life and turns any metal to gold. The stone is called the Philosopher’s stone. They get curious and start their own little investigation, which gets more dangerous by every move.

At first they think that Snape, who doesn’t like Harry at all, is trying to get hold of the stone alone, but later they suspect that Snape is trying to get the stone for Voldemort. A three-headed dog, named Fluffy, dark arts magic, logic, a troll and “the mirror of desire”, guard the stone.

When Harry manages to get closer the stone, after getting past all the tests and traps that were guarding the stone, he comes to “the mirror of desire”. There he just can’t believe his eyes. Instead of Snape, Professor Quirrell is standing there trying to figure out what needs to be done to come past the mirror. Quirrell was the one trying to steal the stone for Voldemort and now they were about to have a great duel where Harry alone was against Lord Voldemort and his servant Quirrell. Harry gets the stone and wins the duel, which does that Voldemort leaves Quirrell’s body and vanishes.

Weeks later Harry wakes up in the hospital wing, surrounded by gifts and sweets. Professor Dumbledore comes and explains him how he managed to win over Voldemort and why Voldemort/Quirrell couldn’t touch him, since his skin blistered if touched. The year at Hogwarts is finished, and Gryffindor wins the House-cup thanks to Harry and his friends. Harry doesn’t want to go back to the Dursleys for the summer-holiday, since the students are forbidden to use magic outside school. But of course, there is no harm in threatening them a little, is there?

I think this book is very good. It’s not like all the other books at the marked. I would strongly recommend this book to people of all ages. People can see the story from different sides and you feel like you are in J.K. Rowling’s magic world! It is exiting and funny, you can’t put the book away after starting reading it. If you read the book I hope you will find it as good as I did.